“The President’s action is indefensible under governing law,” the complaint read.

Filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the two fired commissioners argued that Trump’s email echoed “nearly word-for-word” Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt’s contested 1933 message in the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor v. United States case, CNN reported.

In that case, Roosevelt fired an FTC commissioner who was appointed by Republican President Herbert Hoover, as the commissioner was a conservative with jurisdiction over many New Deal policies. His firing violated the FTC Act, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled, which only allows for firings based on “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

Bedoya put out a statement on the day of his firing, saying Trump “illegally” fired him, claiming that the president wants the FTC to be “a lapdog for his golfing buddies.”

“And to everyone who is watching all of this unfold, don’t be scared. Fight back,” Bedoya said.

Slaughter’s term was due to expire in 2029, while Bedoya’s was due to expire in 2026.

TRUMP FIRES TWO DEMOCRATIC FTC COMMISSIONERS

Republican FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2023, said that he had “no doubts” about Trump’s constitutional authority to remove Slaughter and Bedoya.

“Trump is the head of the executive branch and is vested with all of the executive power in our government. I have no doubts about his constitutional authority to remove Commissioners, which is necessary to ensure democratic accountability for our government,” he said on March 18.